Amelia Ruiz Ruiz is a farmer in Maricao. Since she was a child, agriculture has been a big part of her life. She is the tenth of eleven siblings. Since there were so many siblings and her father was the only source of income, they experienced poverty. But despite everything, they always managed to find something to fill their stomachs. Their main livelihood came from agriculture; from what his father grew on the farm.
Amelia is a mother of four and grandmother of eleven. Throughout her life she has always carried on the recipes she learned from her mother. Recipes mostly made with ingredients she can find on her farm. Among her favorite recipes are: "vianda con bacalao”, "pasteles", coffee made from scratch, and "sorullos”. Amelia also tells us about the difficulties faced, as a farmer on the island. How difficult it is to work the land and how little they get monetarily. In addition to all this, there is the farmers' terror: weather phenomena, such as hurricanes and storms. With their strong winds and rain, they destroy the hard work, sweat, effort and take away the livelihood of many farmers. "The life of a farmer is difficult, very difficult." Note: The interview was conducted in Spanish.
